SIXGUN RENEGADES – Sixgun Renegades (2018)
Finland has become more and more a hotbed for solid new hard rock bands these last few years. It is not at the level of its neighbour Sweden by any means but definitely starting to catch up. Just a few of the many Finland based bands that make the new invasion include Shiraz Lane, Loudguns, Block Buster (all featured at 0dayrox) and now add to the list SIXGUN RENEGADES.
After ten years of hard work, a couple of EP’s and some singles, this 2018 finally SIXGUN RENEGADES had the chance to release their self-titled full length debut.
After first listen, I was actually very impressed with the variety offered on “Sixgun Renegades”. This is classic hard rock with a real ’80s inspiration, driven by melodic hot riffs and a bouncy rhythm sextion.
The lead off track “Renegade” is a straight forward rocker with a cool guitar riff prevalent throughout the entire song. The chorus is simple: “Hey! Renegade!” — but it works really well, with a ‘rebel biker’ attitude.
Coming right up is “My Way or the Highway”, with the same rocking sound yet much more melodic, with strong crystal-clear vocals and an infectious chorus which reminds me of ’80s Canadian bands of this ilk.
Next, “Unbreakable” adds a bit of US glam to the sound, with pumping bass lines and an overall feel recalling KISS circa Lick It Up era, with massive backing vocals (all members contribute) for good effect.
Then Sixgun Renegades provide more variation with the excellent midtempo “Lost and Found”, some kind of a mix between CINDERELLA and SLAUGHTER, before kicking again with melodic hard rocker “Loaded Gun”, a song with a little mid-Eighties Y&T, especially the scorching guitar solo.
Despite its title, “Scream N’ Shout” isn’t a full-on hard rocker, but a gentle funky tune DAVID LEE ROTH influenced.
On “Rock City Blues (Born Under A Bad Sign)”, Sixgun Renegades demonstrate that they can play different styles of music with a bluesy number where singer Niko Räty’s voice gets a better chance to shine before the track speeds up and gets heavier about three quarters of the way based on another cool guitar riff.
As you see, a truly varied album.
More quality songs round-up the record, “All For None… None For All” is a fun rocker with catchy riffs, “Here To Stay” takes the US melodic rock early ’90s structure adding some clean guitars alongside the distorted, while bonus track “There Where I Go” is a more earthy, classic rock ballad with a slightly Seventies feeling that bring to mind HURTSMILE (EXTREME’s Gary Cherone side band).
On “Sixgun Renegades” you can hear the band’s 10-year experience and 3 decades of classic hard rock influences absorbed by each member.
It’s a varied, entertaining album very well composed and produced, and a proof the Finnish scene is alive and kickin’ producing creative and strong new acts.
Highly Recommended
01 – Renegade
02 – My Way or the Highway
03 – Unbreakable
04 – Lost and Found
05 – Loaded Gun
06 – Scream N’ Shout
07 – Rock City Blues (Born Under a Bad Sign)
08 – All For None… None For All
09 – Here To Stay
10 – There Where I Go [bonus track]
Niko Räty – guitar, lead vocals
Samu Tuomi – guitar, backing vocals
Teemu Räty – drums, backing vocals
Miko Mattila – bass, backing vocals
with;
Tuomas Riihimäki – keyboards
Jussi Vuola – percussion
Mark Albert Bertenyi – backing vocals
BUY IT !
itunes.apple.com/fi/album/sixgun-renegades/1338798298
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